Hawaiian Chili?

Not exactly, but this is a chili I first made while I was living in Hawaii.  Backing up, this month’s #letslunch theme is chili.  In case you haven’t read all my posts (really?) #letslunch is a monthly virtual lunch date with some of the best cooks on twitter!  We choose a theme and then all post our individual versions on our blogs on the appointed day & we get to share recipes from around the world.  Oh and if you would like to join, we’d love to have you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Blissful enjoyment of said treat)

When chili was decided for this month’s lunch date, I took a trip down memory lane to my first batch of chili ever.  I had no real interest in chili, my interest was purely mercurial.  I was serving in the US Air Force stationed at the 548 RTG (Reconnaissance Technical Group) at Hickam AFB, Hawaii.  I was an Airman First Class (2 stripes, no star) and desperately wanted an early promotion to Sr Airman (3 stripes, no star) which meant a pay increase.  At the time, one had to interview before a panel of officers who would decide your fate.  It was kind of like a college interview in that they not only looked at your job performance but at your history of merit in the service, behavior on & off the job and – gack – community participation.  Keeping in mind that I was in my early 20s in the early 80s, living in Hawaii so you know that my off time was spent at the beach or a nightclub.  I had to find some way to rack up community points.  Enter the chili.  There was a base-wide chili cookoff and our squadron really wanted to best the other squadrons on the base.  I loved cooking so I figured, how hard can chili be?  Rules in hand, I trundled off to the BX for supplies.  This contest used International Chili Society rules so I was shocked to find that beans & pasta were expressly forbidden and one had 8 hours to make it start to finish.  That began my long affair with chili.  I dug up this photo from my friend Peggy (right) who unbelievably let me dress her up in all sorts of silly costumes in the name of chili.

Before you laugh too hard at the photo – showmanship was always a part of the contest and we were killer bees with killer chili.  If you look closely you can see that we are sticking out our stingers!

We even made the local news with our killer chili – notice how I made my friends wear the short nurse uniforms!  Anyway, we won the first chili contest and part of the prize was entrance into the next level chili contest.  We won 4 contests this way, getting all the way to the Hawaii State finals where I was disqualified for having chili that was too hot for the wimpy Texan judges.  They did give me a large fire extinguisher as a consolation prize, however.

On to my present day chili. I decided, since I had time, to change it up a bit and instead of using ground meat, I braised & shredded instead.

I took some sirloin tip (it would have been better with brisket) and have again as much pork necks, marinated them overnight in red wine, garlic, mustard powder and garlic.  Braised them slowly in a 300 degree oven for about 4 hours, shredded them & set them aside.  Then I rendered about 4 slices of smoky bacon & sautéed a chopped onion and about 3 cloves of garlic in the fat.  Add about 2 cups of stewed tomatoes, chopped, 2 TBSP cider vinegar, 2 TBSP molasses, cumin, coriander, Worcestershire, paprika, smoke flavor (only cause I couldn’t use my smoker), chopped chipotle w/juices, diced jalapenos (frozen from our garden), epazote, 1/4 cup finely chopped kalamata olives (trust me on this),a few chopped oil packed sun dried tomatoes for brightness and anything else you happen to have lying around in the fridge!

I let the mixture simmer for about an hour before adding the meat back into the pot with it’s braising liquid.  Taste and adjust seasoning & simmer for another 30 minutes or so.  At the end, add in about 1/4 cup lime juice & some fresh cilantro.  Serve with grated cheese, chopped onions, cilantro, sour cream & lime on the side.  I prefer to serve this over a nice cheesy polenta but some idiot bought corn flour instead of corn meal so we made do with steamed rice as a base.

The flavors are complex and rich, very warming for a winter’s meal.  While I talked a good game on #letslunch, chili is as individual as your style. You can shred, chunk or grind your meat, or even skip the meat altogether – just get out a pot & give it a try!